Use the Inventory Count procedure to:
- Support a rotational count of inventory.
- Obtain a count and total cost of your inventory that you can compare against a physical count. If necessary, you can then update Solid Business Central™ to match the physical count. Solid Business Central™ will then print out a report of changes made, which you can use to make adjustments to the Solid General Ledger™ accounts.
Determining the cost of the remaining inventory depends on the method used. Two methods can be adopted in Solid Business Central™, FIFO and Standard Costing Method. The FIFO method best reflects the current costs of your inventory and brings nearly 100% accuracy to inventory tracking. The Costing Method can be set in menu path [System / Configure / Company].
The Inventory Analysis / Count Screen
In addition to being a menu screen, the Inventory Analysis / Count screen also displays valuable information about the status of the count. The screen shows what method is currently being used in the system and displays when the last [Prepare] was performed.
On the right side of the Inventory Analysis / Count screen are the following pieces of information:
- Inventory Cost Method
The Cost Method entered under menu path [System / Configure / Company]. This will either be 'Standard' or 'FIFO'. - Last Prepare Status
To Bill: If the inventory costing procedure has been run before, the Bill number at which it stopped is displayed.
To Date: The last date the Inventory Analysis / Count was performed. - Prepared on
The date the most recent Inventory Analysis / Cost was completed.
Whether you use Standard or FIFO cost methods, following the steps set out below will improve your inventory accuracy and make adjustments easier.
Note: Inventory Analysis / Count operations are intended to be conducted from only one workstation at a time. There is only one set-up done, and it applies to your entire site. Ensure that only one workstation is active in this operating area at a time. Other workstations may continue with other operations.
Running an Inventory Analysis / Count
Select menu path [Datafile / Inventory / Count]. This will bring up the Inventory Analysis / Count screen.
On the left side of the Inventory Analysis / Count screen is a menu list with five items. Perform them in the order listed to run the Inventory Analysis/Count procedure.
Prepare
This is the first step in the process and takes a snapshot of your inventory status on hand. The list includes quantities and costs. A message appears 'This will create NEW Inventory count information. Okay, to proceed? (y/N)'. Answer "YES", and continue with a new [Prepare].
If you try to prepare a new inventory list when one has not been finished, you will be warned with the message 'A prepare was created, but not Finished … Okay, to proceed? (y/N)'. Answer "YES" if you wish to continue.
Once the Prepare is completed, the 'Last Prepare Status' information on the Inventory Analysis / Count screen will be updated.
Note: When you conduct a [Prepare], it replaces all of the previously prepared information, if any, in the system. Be sure you have 'finished' your current prepare if it has count information you wish to use.
Check
This will print a checklist of inventory created during the Prepare process described above. Select the order by which the inventory will be grouped in the report. Your choices are:
- Part - The Part Number.
- Supplier (Vendor) - The Supplier's Code.
- Dept - The Department Code.
- Shelf - The Shelf Code.
- Description - The description given to the inventory in [Datafile / Inventory / View].
Once selected, you can choose the order or range of the inventory you want to include in the checklist. Select ALL to report on all inventory. Select RANGE to report on a range of inventory. If you choose RANGE, give a start and end code based on the selected order.
For example, if you have chosen to order by Dept and you wish to include in your report only Price Lookup Units (PLU's) from the Department called 'MISC', then your start would be 'MISC', and the end would also be 'MISC'.
Press "CTRL-END" to continue.
Select "YES" if you want each inventory group to start on a new page. Select "Y" to print the report, and then specify your output destination. Press "ENTER" to select the destination, and your report will be printed.
After printing the report, you will be returned to the Inventory Analysis / Count screen.
Compare Solid Business Central™'s inventory count on the report with what you actually have. Record any differences on the report.
Browse
Select Browse to view a list of your inventory and make changes to on-hand inventory quantity.
Press "ESC" if you wish to end changes and return to the Inventory Analysis / Count screen.
Press the "TAB" or "ENTER" keys to move from one field to the next.
Press "CTRL-F10" to display the list in full size, and press "F10" to find specific text in the list (e.g. an item description).
If you make any changes in Browse, you can see what effect they will have compared to the present inventory status.
For FIFO users, make quantity changes in the NEW_QTY column to the particular batch you want to change; if you do not know which batch, follow the FIFO rules and change the first batch.
View
Selecting View shows how the changes made in the Browse screen compare to the current inventory totals. Once View is selected, answer "YES" when asked if you want to 'Calculate, and display inventory changes? (y/N)'. You will then be shown the Present Costs and Quantities from the Browse screen and the Proposed Costs and Quantities. The difference between the two is shown as 'Change'. If you wish to make changes, you can return to the Browse screen and repeat the Browse/View process until you are satisfied with the changes.
Finish
Selecting Finish will finalize any changes you made to your on-hand inventory costs and quantities. It will also print a report detailing the part numbers, description, and changes in quantities and costs of any inventory changed in Browse.
You can use this list as the foundation for a journal entry to the Solid General Ledger™.
Note: you cannot do an [Finish] unless you have done a [Prepare] first. If you complete one Finish operation, then attempt to do a second without a second Prepare, you will be prompted to run a Prepare before proceeding.
If the Finish is interrupted, it will pick up where it left off, except possibly for the last item worked on. You will need to inspect the status in inventory for the item being worked on.
When you select [Finish] from the menu, you will be prompted to choose the destination output device. Select the appropriate destination, and press "ENTER". Once completed, you will be returned to the Inventory Analysis / Count screen. Press "ESC" to return to the Inventory Reporting menu.
For FIFO Users
Finish will make changes to inventory quantities on hand, generate received orders for increased quantities, create bills for reduced quantities, and provide you with a detailed list of changes. These transactions are the source for the journal entry to the Solid General Ledger™, which will be created with the following Solid General Ledger™ Integration.
Note the following:
- Reduced quantities cause a bill to be generated. The reduced quantity is deducted from the received batch, as changed in Browse above.
- Increased quantities cause an order to be generated. These increased items will be sold after all other existing items are sold.
- Where bills or orders are created, they use the following invoice number available. This number will appear on your Cash Out and Bill Transaction Journal and integrate with the Solid General Ledger™. The transaction is identified with the '>>' character, a character that cannot be typed from the keyboard.
Up to 999 items can be on a bill or order. Where the number of changes is more than this, then multiple bills or orders will be created.
The bill or order will integrate to Cash on Hand. You can change this Integration number for this transaction and have the debit/credit default to a different GL number. Choose menu path [Accounting / Integrate / Review].
Note: If this operation is interrupted, it will pick up where it left off, except for the last item worked on. You would need to inspect the status in inventory for the item being worked on. The bill or order that was being created will be correct but will not have been printed. You can reprint using the billing or ordering reprint functions.